


After the Fight

by muzicwolf, Scarlet_Witch147



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Crimes & Criminals, Emotions, F/M, Modern Era, Police, Star Wars References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:54:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8619850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muzicwolf/pseuds/muzicwolf, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Witch147/pseuds/Scarlet_Witch147
Summary: Star Wars characters from all Star Wars timelines thrown into a modern setting. Maul is involved in an underground fight club which causes a lot of tension between him and his long term girlfriend, Talon. After a fight with Talon, everything falls out of Maul's control and he has do deal with the consequences.





	1. Tension

**Chapter 1**

She heard the front door creek open from her place on the couch, then slowly heard the latch lock back into place. Talon glanced at the clock. 1:45 am. She listened, his steps sounded different, they were slower and slightly heavier as his boots dragged across the floor.

Talon rose from her warm spot on the couch and silently placed her bare feet on the ice cold tile of the apartment. As she passes through the first doorway leading down the small yet open hallway she heard him set down a bag onto the floor. Rounding the next corner she felt anger grow in the pit of her stomach. He was wearing those damn hand wraps again, and he seemed to be slowly taking them off.  

“Where were you?”

Her sudden voice seemed to startle the silence he had entered into. His fire kissed eyes raised to meet hers.

“Out.” 

The fire in her stomach grew as she watched him stuff those damn wraps into his bag, now discarded on the floor. 

“I didn’t ask if you were out of the house. I asked where in the hell were you?”

She heard him sigh, “I was working.”

His eyes looked back up at her, and that’s when she noticed it. 

“What happened to your face?”

There was a deep purple bruise forming around his right eye and cheek bone. Maul turned his face away.

“Nothing.” 

Talon rushed forward and pushed the hood he had been wearing down onto his shoulders.

“You were fighting again, weren’t you?”

His jaw tightened as her gaze darted between his split lip, black eye and sliced brow bone. 

“God dammit Maul! We talked about this!”

Maul slipped past her as her voice raised in tone, “Don’t walk away from me!”

He heard Talon’s footsteps follow after him, then there was her hand on his shoulder spinning him around in the hallway. 

“You said you were going to get a good job Maul.” 

She had moved so he was now back against the wall. 

“I tried.” 

She scoffed at his response, “Bullshit. If you tried you would have a decent job by now.”

She could see his anger growing as he gazed above her and his jaw set in a tight line. Talon took a deep breath to speak again, but he beat her to it.

“I can’t get a  _ ‘decent’ _ job Talon!”, he breathed deeply as if trying to calm himself. 

“Bullshit.”

Maul moved away from her and into the kitchen, he grabbed a glass cup as he went then moved to grab a bottle of whiskey. 

“You can get a damn good job, you’re just not trying hard enough.”

Maul poured a cup and stopped mid sip, “Not trying hard enough? You don’t know how hard I tried to get a good job to provide for us.”

Talon crossed her arms over her chest as he continued, “I busted my ass trying to get some type of job, anything! But you want to know what they see when they look up my name?” Talon shrugged her shoulders, a slight pout on her lips. 

“Charged with second degree murder, gang affiliation, probation violation… The list goes on! Do you really think they would hire someone like me compared to a spot free citizen?”

By this point Talon had already began walking out of the room, shaking her head in disbelief. In a fit of rage Maul threw the glass in his hand at the nearest wall where it shattered and walked outside, slamming the door behind him. 

Maul sat on the steps leading up to their apartment, he pulled out a cigarette and light it, gently placing it between his lips and taking a long drag. Sighing deeply and placing his head in his free hands Maul exhaled, the smoke flew around his face in a warm mist. He felt some comfort in the warm embrace of something that would disappear so fast. 

Slowly as the night went on, he felt himself sinking into sleep. With this feeling he stood and went to the door, only to turn the doorknob and be meet with a locked door. He shook the door knob in anger before turning back to the steps and walking down the streets, until finally he came to another familiar apartment. 

Maul stopped and slowly read through the names listed next to each button, before finally he found the one, he pressed the button and he sighed in relief when there was a response.

“Who is it?”

Maul removed his cigarette and pressed the button to respond, “Savage, it’s Maul.”

With that the door buzzed open and he was allowed access. Maul knocked on the door and was greeted with the larger man

“Maul, what are you doing?” He entered and strode passed Savage.

“I need a place to stay. Talon locked me out.” Savage chuckled, “You’re playing with fire.” 

Maul shrugged his shoulders, “Mind if I take the couch?”. 

Savaged shook his head and motioned for him to go ahead. “Thanks man, I owe you one.”.

He slouched into the large worn couch, “Nice shiner you got there.” Savage pointed out and gestured to his eye. Maul chuckled a little. 

“Is that why Talon locked you out?” All he could do was nod at the question.

“I thought you were done with all the fighting.” Maul slid onto his back throwing his arm over his eyes.

“Yeah… me too.”

**The morning after**

Maul woke up, his vision cleared of the sleep haze as he gazed around the apartment. 

“What?”

Throwing his feet over the side of the couch he realized he was still in Savage’s apartment. Groaning, he place his head in his hands, rolling the palm of his hands against his brow bone in an attempt to straighten his jumbled thoughts. His mind fell back to the fight he had with Talon.

“Dammit.”

The floor creaked off to Maul’s left, peering over his shoulder he saw Savage still drooling from sleep. With sleep still evident in his voice, he mumbled, “Morning.”

Maul gave an acknowledging nod before turning back to brood in his thoughts. 

The phone rang, Savage fumbled with the phone in his heavy hazy of sleep. 

“Hello?” He scratched his chin as he gazed over at Maul, “Yeah he’s here hold on.”

Maul gazed up and took the phone from Savage. “Hello.” he spoke into the phone, voice devoid of any emotion. 

“Hello Maul, ready for another fight?”

The broken voice over the phone was that of Cad Bane, the leader of the fight club that Maul, sadly, had entered back into.

“Details.”

Maul heard Bane chuckle deep in his chest, sighing before he answered, “Embo, usual place, 25,000 credits.”

Maul found himself smiling. “I’ll be there.” He answered before hanging up the phone and setting it down on the table in front of him. 

Savage stared at him with a dumbfounded look on his face, “Really?”, but Maul only shrugged in response.

“Just one more fight, then I’m done.”

Savage could only laugh, “I’m just gonna call bullshit on you right now.” Maul furrowed his brow. 

“Come on Maul, you’ve said that to many times to believe that you’re actually going to follow through.”. 

Maul stood shaking his head as he began to walk towards the door. “If you’re pissing me off just imagine how Talon feels.” 

Maul stopped dead in his tracks,  _ “Don’t.”  _ He heard Savage move to stand by the couch. 

“Don’t?” Savage laughed, “What do you mean don’t? What, you tired of hearing the same old lecture?”

Maul turned to face him, “Man, if I was Talon I would have left your ass a long time ago…” Maul was seething, he turned abruptly on his heels and left, slamming the door after him.


	2. Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul returns home and is met with another argument from Talon, but this argument seems different from the rest.

Chapter 2

Finally exiting the building, Maul was met with the bright mid day sun. Growling at the sudden assault of bright light, he creased his brow in a futile attempt to ward off the pain in his eyes. Soon his vision cleared enough to walk down the sidewalk, his home was only a few blocks away, so he took his time. 

His hands dug themselves into the pockets of his thoroughly worn black jeans, his right hand met the cold metal of his lighter. Slowly wiggling his hand free, with his lighter in tow, Maul reached into his back pocket and grasped the generic brand pack of cigarettes.

Maul struggled more than he would ever care to admit trying to get a single stupid cigarette out of the package. Maybe it was the fact that he was angry about what Savage had said. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t looking forward to another beat down from Talon. When he finally did get one out, stick it in his mouth, and light it, he was more agitated than before. And he was no better off a few drags in.

With a frustrated sigh, he dropped the cigarette to the concrete and smashed it with the heel of his boot before continuing onward. For a moment, he considered telling Talon that he was only taking his fighting gear to get rid of it. But the thought was immediately trashed because there was no way in hell she’d ever fall for it. And needless to say that even if she did fall for it, it would be impossible to explain away any new cuts or bruises. 

Through all his jumbled thoughts Maul did not even realize that he had passed his apartment by thirty or so feet. Turning on his heels he prepared himself for whatever lied behind that door, only three concrete steps separated him from yet another argument. Maul grabbed the doorknob with a steady hand, turning it he pushed the door open. 

Maul opened the door just enough to move just inside the door frame, glancing down at where he left his bag, he was met with wood flooring. His eyes focused on the floor for a second before jumping to the rest of the floor trying to find his bag. But knowing Talon she probably moved the bag to their room, which would mean traveling through the length of the house. He sighed almost in anger, he pushed the door out of his way before closing it rather harshly.

He stood still, listening for any sign of Talon but could not hear anything. Maul relaxed and strode through the hallway, passing the kitchen. Something on the kitchen floor caused him to stop in his tracks, stepping to his right he entered through the open doorway and right into the kitchen. Gazing at the floor, he realized the item that had caught his eye was glass. Glass from the night before, he reached for it slowly pulling it from the floor, which had become extremely sticky from the whiskey the glass had carried. 

Suddenly a door closed just down the hall and Maul shot to his feet, he moved back into the hallway and caught a glimpse of Talon passing from their room to the living room. Slowly moving down the length of the hallway he stood at the edge of the open room. Talon was sitting on the couch and appeared to be caught up in her own world, seeing as she was content with whatever she was thinking about Maul took this as an opportunity to grab his bag and leave without disturbing her. 

Maul opened the door to their room and quickly located his bag, which appeared to be hastily stuffed under the corner of their bed. He grabbed the bag and flung the strap over his shoulder, unzipping the main pocket of the bag to make sure everything was still inside.

“You going out?”

Maul’s shoulders slouched like a child caught by his parents.

He turned halfway to meet Talon’s fierce gaze, her arms were crossed over her chest, one index finger tapping away on her upper arm.

“Yes.” He kept his tone neutral as he met her gaze completely.

She shifted on her feet, allowing herself to lean her back on the wall behind her. Maul could tell she was trying to keep herself from exploding, she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. Maul took her restrains and utter silence as a sign that he could leave. Making it out of their room without so much as a word from Talon and reaching halfway to the front door in silence. 

“Are you addicted to the pain? The rush it gives you?”

Maul looked over his shoulder, Talon was right behind him and she was beyond frustrated. Keeping his mouth shut, Maul slowly turned around.

“Is that what fighting is to you? It’s like a drug. That's the only reason I can think of for why you keep going back to it, because you can’t live without it.”

Talon was not even making eye contact with him, her eyes had locked on the floor as she tried to rationalize whatever was streaking through her head. Maul gave himself a moment to think, to try and ease her thoughts, but all that came to mind was the idea he had trashed before he came home and for some reason his mouth decided to roll with that plan before his brain could stop it.

“Talon, I just came to get rid of the bag.”

She raised her gaze from the floor to meet his, and for one blissful second, Maul thought she believed him. But the dream was broken when she began to laugh. 

“Oh really? HA!, that’s funny you almost had me there.”

Maul ground his teeth together as he felt his frustration rising. Why did I say that? Right, because he really did not have a reason for his fighting. 

“Did you really think I would fall for such a half ass excuse like that?”

The only thing Maul could do was shrug his shoulders and avert his eyes from hers. He did not know what else to say to her, obviously nothing was going to help.

“Maul I really need you to understand that this is not going to help us. This fighting is only going to get you into more trouble.” Her gaze had turned to that of sympathy and understanding. 

Maul could not help but scrunch his nose at her sudden change, seeing sympathy in her eyes only angering him more. It made him feel weak, like a child after being scolded. 

“I get it. You don’t want me to fight Talon, but right now that's our only source of income. So you're just going to have to deal with it.” He didn’t mean for his tone to be so sharp, but it was too late to take it back.

Talon took a step back almost as if his response had physically hurt her. She clenched her hands at her sides, chest aching. “You know what, do whatever you want. Go to your stupid fight, I don’t care.” 

Maul was so shocked by her sudden change in attitude that for the first time since he’d arrived back home, he actually looked up at her, but she was no longer looking in his direction. In his state of shock Maul could not stop himself. “Are you okay?”, his tone fell into concern. He took a step towards her, his hand reaching out to grasp her forearm and just as his fingertips brushed the side of her arm, she pulled away. 

“Screw you! What do you care?”

Talon’s voice cracked as she quickly turned to storm down the hall, disappearing into the bathroom. Maul stared after her with wide eyes. What the hell? He shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, because honestly, he just didn’t know how to deal with this. And if he wasted any more time trying to figure out what to do, he was going to be late. Maul hastily opened the door but stole one last glance down the hallway, promising to himself that he would find a way to fix whatever was happening when he got back.


	3. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was only possible thanks to Muzicwolf. Please Enjoy.

Maul felt odd. The argument, if you could even call it that, left him feeling confused more than angry. Talon was behaving oddly, she never pulled herself from an argument that easily. But Maul did not have time to dwell on what happened, he needed to focus on the fight he had in about twenty minutes. 

Speed walking, almost at a jog, Maul slipped past people with ease as he made his way to the abandoned brew house they used as their home base for the fights. Slowly the buildings he was passing began to decay. Downtown was a cruel place, but Maul fit in quite well. 

Finally the brewery came into view, walking up to the large door Maul took a moment to glance about the area for anyone suspicious, seeing as everything was clear he pulled open the door and quickly slipped past the rusting metal. Inside Maul could hear the echo's of the onlookers waiting for their fight, bidders were calling out his name as well as his opponents along with various amounts of money for each bid. 

Maul moved into the open area and dropped his bag about ten feet away from the large circle. Kneeling he reached into his bag, he removed his wraps and gently placed them next to his feet. Maul caught the gaze of Cad Bane, and found him moving his lengthy frame over to him. 

“Maul,” he grinned down at him exposing his yellow jagged teeth, “glad you could make it.”

Maul removed his shirt and hastily shoved it into his bag, in doing so he caught a glimpse of a picture that he kept in his bag at all times, for good luck. It was of Talon. She was smiling but it wasn’t a smile posed for the picture… It was a smile directed at him, for him, and it was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. 

He let his mind drift but caught himself, gazing at her photo brought him guilt and sadness at this time. Maul zipped his bag shut and grabbed his wraps and beginning to thread it through his fingers and wrapped them over his knuckles and palms. Quickly finishing he stood, Bane stepped back to give him space.

“Are you ready?”

Maul smirked and gazed at Bane before letting a slight chuckle pass his lips.

“You’re asking the wrong person. Go see if Embow is ready.”

Bane disappeared to the other side of the circle and Maul made his way towards the crowd. People began to notice him and shifted to move out of his way, giving him easy access to the center of the circle. His gaze lazily made it way to the other side of the makeshift ring and saw his opponent, obviously ready to fight. Embo was tall, standing about 6’ 6”. He didn’t seem buff. No, he was more along the lines of a lean athlete. 

This surprised Maul, usually the people who wanted to fight him were large brutes who just wanted a chance to flex their muscles. But this opponent would be very interesting to fight. Seeing as he lacked physical strength, he would need something else to give him the confidence to fight Maul. 

Bane entered the ring and everyone's attention was brought towards the lengthy blue creature. 

“Bidding has ended.” He gazed around the circle, “The fight is about to begin.”

Maul stood still, his body completely relaxed. Embo on the other hand was hopping about, shaking his arms and jumping in place. Maul could not suppress the smile that spread across his features at the realization that his opponent was even a little bit nervous. 

“Fighters meet in the center, show your respect!” Bane took a few steps back.

Maul walked forward, fists up hovering just in front of his chin, and Embo did the same. About three feet away from each other Maul outstretched his hand to which Embo knocked their knuckles together. 

“Fighters ready?” Bane glanced between the two and each gave a short nod. There was a moment of complete silence. For that single moment, it was as if time stood still, then “Fight!”

Bane raced from the center and crashed into the crowd, before whipping around to watch the fight unfold. 

Maul did not waste any time, he moved forward and swung wide with his right arm. Embo dodged by sliding back on his left foot, keeping up his defense. Maul decided that he would let Embo swing next just to get a feel for how he fought. Embo circled Maul, looking for an opening. He seemed to find one and he flew forward, which caught Maul off guard and Embo landed a solid hit on Mauls right flank. 

Finally understanding how Embo fought gave Maul a new edge, now he could adapt his fighting style to match his opponents. Embo used fast movements to make up for his lack of confidence in his throws. From that point on the punches were consistent.

After what seemed like an eternity in a fury of flying fists, the two fighters took a moment and backed away from each other. Both were out of breath, and blood had begun to spill. Maul could already feel bruise forming on his torso and he definitely had a few cracked ribs, maybe even a broken one. But Embo did not walk away unscathed. Maul was sure that he had done some damage to the fighters left eye and his jaw was probably fractured, or rather, broken based on the swelling he could see from across the ring.

Maul and Embo locked eyes and began to move towards each other. Just as they were about to continue the fight, the main door of the building burst open and a sea of cops rushed the building, red and blue flashes lighting up the inside of the building. 

“Hands up!!” The reaction was instantaneous, everyone scattering, desperate to escape “Remain where you are!”

Maul had a split second to recognize that one of the cops was rushing towards him. He found himself making eye contact with the man before turning and bolting towards the nearest opening. 

Maul could feel the cop at his heels, he slipped in between an opening in the metal wall of the room which led him to an outside alley. Maul ran to his right seeing as it was an open alley, but regretted his decision when three other cops turned the corner. He found himself sliding towards the cops since his boots could not get grip on the floor with the sudden change of direction. 

His feet slid out from under him and he fell onto his back. Scrambling back to his feet, Maul felt hands beginning to claw at his skin as he rushed to get away. Once again Maul found himself staring at the face of a cop and it angered him. Maul pushed the cop out of his way and raced towards the fence in front of him. 

He heard the cops yelling after him, “Stop! You're under arrest!”

Maul launched over the fence and landed into a roll. He took a split second to glance behind him, and he saw the cops struggling with the fence. Maul rushed away, running at full speed, the buildings blurring into one. 

He was not thinking as he ran, he was simply running, and before he realized it he was at his front door. Not thinking twice Maul ripped open the door. Later, it would occur to him that this was one of the only times Talon hadn’t locked him out. He rushed inside, slamming and locking the door behind him. Now locked in his home, Maul leaned his back against the door and slid to the floor trying desperately to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. 

In his fit of heavy breathing and racing heart, Maul heard bare feet making their way down the hall. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Talon standing there, hands covering her mouth. He thought that she must be in shock, after all he was spotted with blood and dirt, breathing hard and home much earlier than she’d expected.

“Maul, what the hell-” She started but was immediately cut off by the blare of police sirens as multiple cars took off down the road. Talon’s eyebrows furrowed as concern slowly faded away, giving way to rage.

“Maul-”

“No.” He said firmly, cutting her off. “I don’t need to hear it from you. I made it home didn’t I?” Saying this, Maul realized immediately after the words left his mouth, was a very very bad idea. He cursed his recurring inability to think before he spoke. He had promised to fix things when he got back home, not make them worse.

“Then who? Who will you listen to?”

Talon took heavy steps forward, Maul slowly raise his chin to meet her gaze, and he was met with eyes full of frustration, sadness and… and acceptance? Maul slowly rose to his feet, although Maul stood taller than Talon she held all the power at the moment. Talon left a huff of air pass through her nose before whipping around and hastily making her way to the kitchen. 

Maul remained still unsure of whether or not to follow her, he took one step forward and Talon reappeared with a phone in hand. His eyes opened wide, the beginning of fear curling in the pit of his stomach.

“Talon, what are you doing?” He asked and raised his hand slowly, trying to reach for the phone locked in Talons right hand. She jerked her arm away.

“I’m calling the police. If I can’t get through to you, then maybe they can.”

Talon dialed 911 but her thumb hesitated over the call button, her gaze slowly shifted to Maul.

“Talon don’t.” Maul’s voice teetered on the edge of begging. It sounded foreign and wrong to his own ears. And yet, he remained still.

“What other choice have you given me Maul?”

Maul swallowed the lump in his throat, his gaze fell from her face as he tried to piece together some explanation.

“Maul I can’t do this anymore, you’re putting us at risk for some selfish reason. I’ve asked and I’ve pleaded with you but nothing seems to get to you. You have given me no choice.”

Talon looked at the phone about to press the green button that would take Maul away from her, but it’s for the better. She felt herself tearing up, but forced the emotion aside. 

“Talon, just...” Maul licked his lips in a slight panic, “Wait”, his hand raised as if it would force her to stop. 

“Let’s just talk about this.”

Talon glanced at him, covered in dirt, blood and bruises, pleading to have a moment to talk. It was strange seeing Maul ask to talk. Maul, the one who always chose a fight over a conversation. What kind of conversation would they possibly be able to have?

“I’ve tried talking Maul, you never listen.”

Maul could see the resolution in her eyes. He could see now that this would be the last chance he would get to fix things. Looking back, Talon’s refusal to put up with him any longer had been a long time coming. He began to wonder how she’d ever let it go on this long.

“Talon, I swear. This time-”

Talon, unfortunately, would hear none of it. “This time what Maul? This time you promise you won’t go to anymore fights? This time you’ll actually listen to what I have to say? This time you’ll make a real effort to find a job? This time things will be different? I can’t take it anymore Maul!”

Talon yelled a lot. Maul yelled a lot. They yelled at each other a lot. But this time was different. Something was different about Talon. 

“I know Talon. I know. Just let me try and fix it.”

Maul had never felt so desperate in his entire life. Had never been this close to potentially losing something so important to him.

“Can you really fix this Maul? Because I just see you running back to fight after fight after fight… Running away from me. I don’t want to live like that anymore.”

The phone was still clutched tightly in her hand, as more of a lifeline now than anything else. She could feel tears constricting her throat and she cursed the burning sensation that came along with it.

“Talon, I swear to you that I will try to fix this. But right now, I need you to tell me what’s going on. What happened? What’s wrong?”

Talon’s hand shook at the question, hand clenching around the phone impossibly tighter. 

“What's wrong…” She muttered, “What’s wrong?” 

A tense laugh escaped Talon’s lips, and the only thing she could be thankful for at the moment was that it wasn’t a sob instead. 

“What’s wrong is that you’re never here. Even when you’re here, you’re not actually here. All you’re ever thinking about is your next fight! What’s wrong is that you never listen to me. Everything I say just turns into a fight. Then those fights always end with you storming off. And when you come home, you’re all beat up from a fight and the cycle starts all over again!  
What’s wrong is that I’m sick of sitting here waiting for you to come home. I’m tired of wondering if you’re ever going to come home at all. I’m so so tired of pacing around wondering if I’m going to have to raise our child alone-”

The change in atmosphere was immediate. Talon’s free hand moved to cover her mouth and her eyes widened as the realization of what she’d said really hit her. This wasn’t at all how she had wanted to tell him. Goddammit, why did everything between always have to be an argument.

Maul’s previous look of desperation turned into confusion, and then his eyes were blank, unable to process the information he was being presented with. Child. What? That didn’t make any sense… 

Maul turned, feeling like he was caught in some hazy dream. “I-I have to… have to go.” He said, suddenly unsure of everything. The only thing he was sure of was the concrete beneath his feet and the sound of the door slamming shut as he left the apartment.

Maul walked for what felt like hours until his senses finally, finally started to come back to him. And the first thing he realized was that he was wandering around like an idiot while the cops were out looking for anyone from the fight.

But he needed to clear his head. He needed to be outside of the confines of their apartment. He just needed air so maybe he could think about things like a normal person.

Talon was pregnant. They were going to have a kid together… He was going to be a father.

All at once he saw everything through Talon’s eyes. He couldn’t be a reliable father like this. Something needed to change. And this time, it had to be a real change. Maul decided right then that this fight was his last. No more. For him. For Talon. And for their child.

But right now, what he really needed was a smoke. He reached into his pocket, only to find it empty. He frowned in confusion but it only took a moment to realize why he didn’t have his cigarettes or his light on him.

They were still in his bag. And his bag was still at the brewery. Of course it was. He’d been in so much of a rush to get out, he hadn’t had time to grab his bag. He’d be lucky if it was still there.

And honestly, a lighter and a half empty pack of cigarettes was nothing he was willing to risk his life for. But it wasn’t about the cigarettes. It was about the photo he had tucked away inside the bag. His photo of Talon.

He prayed the bag was still there. He couldn’t risk the police getting a hold of Talon’s picture. Couldn’t risk them finding her taking her in for questioning. And more than that, it was his good luck charm. Even if Talon absolutely despised his fights.

With that in mind, Maul set on his path towards the brewery, each step bringing him closer to a new life.


	4. Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haven't updated in a long time.. sorry!! Hope you enjoy!!

The brisk walk to the fighting ring was far from a pleasant stroll. Instead of walking the streets with a confident glide, he was slinking his way through every alley, moving like a shadow. 

It was to risky for Maul to show himself, two or more cops had been face to face with him almost an hour ago. 

The back of the warped unused brewery was a welcome sight. Maul slipped through a thin split in the metal siding. Once inside, he stilled, everything going silent.

The silence was a comfort, a quick indicator that no cops were still strolling the building. The low security made sense, the cops knew that no one from that fight would be back here any time soon, and yet here he was.

He pulled himself from the shadows and strode towards the middle of the room, scanning the floor for his bag. It didn’t take long to find it, but it had been kicked about thirty feet from where he had first set it on the dust covered ground.

Maul rushed to the bag, the feeling of the rough fabric against his hands made him smile. He tore the bag open and dug through the contents until he finally found the fragile photo he kept there. 

He allowed himself to drift into this blanket of warmth, the feeling of home when he gazed at the smile on Talons face. But the feeling was short lived.

“I’d know that tattooed skin anywhere.” 

The voice was dry, devoid of any emotion. 

Maul swiftly placed the picture back into be bag, stiffly standing to face the voice. 

Honestly, Maul couldn't say he was surprised to see Jango Fett standing there, in a rather nice grey suit and blue tie. 

“Jango.” Mauls teeth ground together, name hissing out.

He chuckled, “Come on Maul, don't be that way. We’re all friends here.”

He gestured vaguely around the room which forced Maul to tear his gaze away from the snake in from of him just long enough to check of his surroundings. There were three other people in the building with them, seeming to materialize out of the murky shadows. They were difficult to see, but they were definitely there.

“What do you want?”

Jango strode across a path of about ten feet before stopping with his back to Maul. 

“I have a job for you.”

Maul bared his teeth, which should truly be considered fangs, at the mention of a job.

“I don't do that anymore.” 

He turned away from Jango’s back and took ahold of old gym bag and slung it over his shoulder. Maul turned to leave, his stride confident and unwavering. From behind him he heard Jango call.

“Sidious asked for you by name.”

Everything came to a screeching halt. Maul’s joints locked in place and his heart began pounding in his rib cage as if there wasn't enough space to contain it. He swallowed hard but found his mouth completely void of moisture.

The click of Jango's dress shoes behind him momentarily pulled Maul back from the brink of a panic attack.

“In all honesty you've hidden yourself very well in this shit hole of a city. The only reason I was able to find you…”

Suddenly Jango was right behind Maul, Jango's breath glided across the back of his neck.

“...Is because your Sidious’s favorite stray.”

The room became extremely small in a fraction of a second. Maul recoiled, he dropped his bag and slammed his horned head back into what he hoped was Jango’s face.

He took a step forward and turned his entire upper body towards where Jango was staggering behind him. His fist coiled and his muscles pulled so tight he thought he would snap them, like a rubber band being stretched too far, too fast. 

Mauls fist surged forward and landed a solid hit to Jango's left cheek, essentially disorienting him. Jango was a tough brute after all.

It all happened so fast the other three men that Jango had brought with him we're still fifteen feet away. They were good at hiding but apparently not much else. 

Jango straightened himself up, casually pulling a handkerchief from his suit pocket to cover his now bleeding nose. He raised his hand signalling for his men to stop.

Maul leaned down and picked up his bag, once again slinging it over his shoulder. He leveled a cold stare at Jango.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Jango chuckled slightly, cracking his nose back into place.

Maul silently turned on his heel and made a swift bee line for the exit of the building.

“Sidious is going to be very disappointed.”

Maul let out a growl as he exited the building. It was still the same outside as when he’d entered. No goons waiting to attack him, but the air had changed. It was heavy with dread. It made him unsteady.

The unsteady feeling only got worse the farther he got from the brewery. It gripped him by the thoat, making it hard to breathe. The way the shadows seemed to bend and twist made him anxious. So much that he almost forgot he was still supposed to be avoiding being seen.

The flash of what looked like police lights caught Mauls attention and he dipped back into the safe darkness of the nearest alley. As he continued toward home he found himself continuously glancing over his shoulder.

Then a thought pushed it way into focus. If Jango is here... is Sidious?

The horrifying thought threw something else into sharp relief. If Sidious knew he was here, then that sure as hell wasn’t all he knew.

Sidious wasn’t the kind of person to just barge in without a plan in place. If he was here to get Maul to do a job, that meant he had leverage… and that meant-

“Talon.”

Maul hardly worked his way through the whole thought before he was running, all thoughts of fights and cops miles behind him. He had to get back home. He had to be there now.

His lungs were burning by the time he finally reached the familiar strip of concrete in front of the apartments. Nothing immediately seemed out of place but that was no indication that things weren’t falling apart under the surface.

Maul all but leapt up the steps, hand reaching for the door knob, only to have the door cave under his weight.

He stumbled inside only to find exactly what he’d been dreading. In addition to the door that had been smashed in, the apartment itself had been trashed, broken glass and overturned table and chairs decorating the floor.

His immediate thought was that this was all a nightmare. That he wasn’t actually stupid enough to have walked out on Talon right after she’d said she was pregnant. 

His following thought was that his life was already worse than any nightmare. He should have seen this coming. Should have been ready. But the moment he saw Jango in the brewery, it was already too late. 

Just like always, Maul was too late, and Talon was gone


End file.
